Dubai Duty Free walked away with a key award when it was named “Airport Retailer of the Year in Single Location” for a remarkable eight time at the prestigious Frontier Awards held yesterday, 04th October in Cannes, France.

Held to coincide with the annual Tax Free World Association (TFWA) exhibition, the Frontier Awards, which marked their 33rd year, are hailed as the ‘Oscars’ of the industry while the ‘Airport Retailer of the Year’ is one of the most coveted awards of all.

Present in Cannes to collect the award, Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free said: “This is the eight time that Dubai Duty Free has won the ‘Airport Retailer Award’ since the awards began 33 years ago. There is a lot of competition in this category and I would like to thank the organizers and the judges for their support. I join our Chairman H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum in dedicating this Frontier award to each and every member of the Dubai Duty Free team.”

Dubai Duty Free came in top among the other shortlisted entries in the same category including Capi, Delhi Duty Free Services, Dufry International, Ever Rich Corporation, Lagardére Travel Retail – Aelia London Luton Airport and Mumbai Duty Free.

Launched in 1985 by Frontier magazine, the awards aim to recognize excellence in the industry with trophies going to winners in 17 categories. This year, entries for the ‘Airport Retailer’ award were reviewed by international panel of judges, which included senior representatives from the travel retail industry.

Dubai Duty Free’s continuing sales growth, which is expected to reach US$1.88 billion this year, its ongoing expansion of its retail offer and its brand partnerships with key suppliers, were some of the key points noted by the judges before awarding the ‘Airport Retailer of the Year – Single Location’ to the operation.

Dubai Duty Free won its first ‘Airport Retailer of the Year’ award in 1985 – at the first Frontier Awards ceremony- and again in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2014. The operation has also won in other categories over the years including ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ in 1986, 1990, 2009 and 2015. In 1986, Colm McLoughlin was presented with the ‘Duty Free Person of the Year’ award and in 2004 a special ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ was presented in recognition of his significant role within the duty free industry. While former Dubai Duty Free President, George Horan was also presented with the same award in 2016 following his retirement in June .after 33 years of working in the company.